Method and Apparatus for DNS Pre-Fetching for Multiple Clients

1. A method for pre-fetching Domain Name System (DNS) entries, the method comprising the steps of: monitoring, by a dedicated packet monitor, data packets coming into or going out of a network; identifying, by the packet monitor and in accordance with one or more defined criteria, at least one domain name of interest in at least one of the data packets; determining, by the packet monitor, that a local DNS server has not cached an Internet Protocol (IP) address corresponding to the at least one domain name of interest, where the local DNS server serves a plurality of clients; retrieving, by the packet monitor, the IP address from a server other than the local DNS server; and sending, by the packet monitor, the IP address to the local DNS server.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria include the frequency of a domain name within a window of time or number of monitored data packets.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more defined criteria include the frequency or grouping of disparate domain names within a window of time or a number of data packets.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria include a transport layer identifier or endpoint.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria include a protocol being scanned.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria include an IP address of a client on the network.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria include an IP address of a server on the network.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria include a location or a context of a domain name within the monitored data packets.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria is static.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the criteria is dynamic.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of: caching, by the local DNS server, the IP address.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of retrieving the IP address is executed using a standard DNS protocol from DNS name servers.

13. A method for expediting domain name-to-IP address translation requests from multiple clients, the method comprising the steps of: monitoring, by a dedicated packet monitor, data packets coming into a network on which said multiple clients reside; retrieving, by the packet monitor, at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address of a domain name appearing in at least one of the data packets, in accordance with one or more predefined criteria that identify at least one domain name of interest; determining, by the packet monitor, that a local DNS server serving said muiltiple clients has not cached the at least one IP address; retrieving, by the packet monitor, the at least one IP address from a server other than the local DNS serve; and sending, by the packet monitor, the at least one IP address to the local DNS server.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising the step of: caching the IP addresses at the local Domain Name System server.